Most readers of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, will notice some obvious changes in Roger Corman’s movie, The Fall of the House of Usher. In the film, Philip Winthrop traveled to the House of Usher, a grim mansion surrounded by a tarn, for his fiancée Madeline Usher. Madeline's brother Roderick opposed Philip's intentions of getting married to Madeline and taking her back to Boston with him. He told Phillip that the Usher family is afflicted by a cursed bloodline which made all their ancestors mad, criminals, etc. He did not want the evils to spread through Madeline and Phillips “future children”. Philip felt that he could not see Madeline and himself endure much more, so he finally convinced Madeline into going with him. When everything is settled, she got into an argument with her brother and she suddenly “dies”. She was laid to rest in the family vault by Philip and Roderick. When Philip was getting ready to leave, the butler said Madeline suffered from catalepsy (a condition which can make people appear dead). Philip hurried to open Madeline's coffin and found it empty. He desperately searched for her in the huge mansion which consisted of many hidden passages. Meanwhile, Madeline, who was completely mad, made her way to her brother. She tried to get revenge by killing him but they both die as a fire breaks out. Philip escaped and saw the house sink into the tarn surrounding it. Poe used vivid imagery supported by very descriptive details. He established the mood with specific word choice, “There was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it—I paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher?"(pg.65) All three of the characters suffered from madness and gloom, evidently brought on by the forlorn setting. Poe’s description of the house and then comparing...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...Fall of the House of Usher
1. The details in the story seemed realistic. But the outcome seems too perfect. Even the symbols between the family and the house fit together just right, reminding us that the story isn’t as realistic as the descriptions that are given. Poe is able to give such detailed descriptions that seem to be real, but again all the pieces fitting together shows the planning of this story. The narrator describes rotting shrubs and trees to really explain the dreariness and eeriness of the house and even this situation. He even compares the house’s windows to human eyes, saying they are eye-like. The narrator explains the Usher family is “ancient” and describes the house as having original antiquities but the condition of the stone was crumbling and the discoloration showed how the house has aged over the years. It’s apparent that the house’s condition is very similar to Roderick and Madeline Ushers condition. It’s apparent that when the narrator refers to the “House of Usher” he is referring to not only the house but also the family that lives within. So the house is also a symbol for the Usher’s. Even when the narrator describes the house’s reflection in the shallow pool the house looking as though it is upside...

...Edgar Allan Poe aim for in his shortstory „The Fall of the House of Usher“= What matters does he use to achieve it (incl. Tone, setting, characters, conﬂict & plot etc.)
Edgar Allan Poe was the ﬁrst writer to put the Gothic authors predilection for old and ancient nobilities and buildings in a direct causal relationship with the people. The 'House' Usher says both the gender of theUshers as well as its headquarters building. Does one go down, so does the other. Poe sets up a sense of the "double" or the ironic reversal when he has the narrator ﬁrst see the House of Usher as it is reﬂected in the tarn, which surrounds it. In fact, the greatness of this story lies more in the unity of design and the unity of atmosphere than it does in the plot itself. In terms of what plot there is, it is set somewhere in the past, and we ﬁnd out that the narrator and Roderick Usher have been friends and schoolmates previous to the story's beginning. At the end of the story, the House of Usher will literally fall into the big black tarn and be swallowed up by it. The narrator tells twice that the windows of the house are "eyelike" and that the inside of the house has become a living "body" while the outside has become covered with moss and...

...“The Fall of the House of Usher” - Review
“The Fall of the House of Usher” is a shortstory written by Edger Allan Poe in 1839. Almost everything about the story is very gloomy, dark and depressing. For example, the house is described by the narrator as “the melancholy House of Usher” and the description of Roderick Usher himself makes you think of a corpse. This theme of dreariness and sorrow pervades the story and is done to a very chilling effect, which really draws in the reader. “The Fall of the House of Usher” has lots of necessary elements of a traditional Gothic tale: a dreary landscape, a haunted house, mysterious characters, etc., but for all of these elements, the vagueness of the story is a large part of the terror about it.
One of the most interesting and endearing elements of this story is its mystery, the fact that Edgar Allan Poe, despite the brilliant description of the setting and physical features of the characters, doesn’t actually give us a lot of information about the characters themselves makes the reader ask a lot of questions: Why is the house in such a state of disrepair? ; If the narrator was a childhood friend of Roderick...

...Allen Poe puts forth a similar style in his writings, as in the shortstory “ The Fall of the House of Usher”, which depicts a very dark and gothic tone. This tone demonstrates a common style of Poe’s writing and reveals a much deeper message throughout his text. In this literary piece, Poe unfolds the story of the Usher family, who through an unknown narrator explains the demise of theUsher “house” due to characters Roderick and Madeline’s inability to continue the legacy of their family name. The cause of this incapability is an effect from Roderick and Madeline’s choice to isolate themselves from society, and their decision to no longer continue to be a societal model or “city upon a hill” as their ancestors once were. John Winthrop started this principle of being a city upon a hill in the early establishment of colonization at Massachusetts Bay. It was a challenge for Americans to serve as a positive demonstration to the rest of society, in order to not experience failure like they had in their previous land. The significance of being a model to society and continuing a legacy was shown when Roderick and Madeline, who do not demonstrate this, develop illnesses, which symbolically relates back to their inability to be like their ancestors. Finally as a result to all of this it ends in the fall of the “physical house”...

...Edgar Allen Poe, master of the macabre, was one of the most prolific authors of his time. His shortstories explore the dark side of life, touching on the realms of insanity, death, terror, and fear. In the psychological thriller, The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe examines the mental derangement and dissipation of Roderick Usher. In this tale and his other shortstories, setting, in particular architecture and other structural elements contribute significantly to atmosphere and is physically and psychologically symbolic.
Although Usher?s mental illness is said to be hereditary, it is the House in which this disease of the mind flourishes. The story opens on a ?dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens.? Autumn is chosen because it is a time when the leaves of trees begin to wither away. Adding to the dark atmosphere, Poe never explicitly mentions where the House of Usher is located geographically, creating a sense of indefiniteness and remoteness. The authour employs similar remote castle settings in Ligeia and The Masque of the Red Death. In fact, in all three stories, he neglects to mention when the events occur, further adding to the feeling of uneasiness. Without a fixed time and location, the...

...Bethany Risinger
English 2341.02
Dr. Watson
September 20, 2011
Vampirism in “The Fall of the House of Usher”
The theme of vampirism occurs several times throughout “The Fall of the House of Usher” written by Edgar Allen Poe. He shows this theme through many actions of the characters and his use of diction. The three main paths of discovering the vampire theme is to closely examine three important instruments within the story. The three instruments used include Roderick Usher, Madeline Usher, and the House that the two live in.
Roderick Usher is used by Poe to demonstrate the vampire theme in two ways. In the launch of the shortstory, Roderick is described with both physical and mental strangeness. His physical being is characterized as “terribly altered” (152), having a Hebrew nose, and with a ghoulish color of skin. These descriptions do not give an array of a normal human being. Edgar Allen Poe even writes that the narrator “couldn’t connect it’s arabesque expression with any idea of simple humanity” (152). There is obviously something wrong with Roderick physically to where he did not look like a human. These physical alterations are symbolisms for a vampire figure. Hebrew noses are known to be rather large and pointed downward, giving us the imagery of Dracula, a widely...

...For many stories, introducing background information is essential. We, as readers, want it, and sometimes we need it to understand where the story is picking up and what relationships already exist. In the case of THE FALLHOUSE OF USHER by Edgar Allen Poe, key background information is deliberately omitted. Poe’s signature gothic style and genius are all about the elements of imagery and suspense. Immediately the reader is on its toes waiting and wondering about information that is never revealed, while at the same time, the author unravels a story that makes them forget they ever wanted or needed background.
Reading between the lines of this story, however, reveals necessary details that allow glimpses at background information. For instance, Poe mentions that Roderick and the narrator are “boon companions”, in other words, best friends from childhood. The narrator does acknowledge that his friend was quite guarded, or ‘reserved’ while they were young. Even at that, one would assume that the very basics would be known between friends, yet we learn that the narrator has never before been to the House of Usher, nor does he really know a lot about his ‘friend’. How could they have been so ‘close’ growing up, but not visit one another’s homes; or know that your friend has a sister, let alone that she is a twin?
The narrator also...

...com.ar/translate?hl=es&amp;langpair=en%7Ces&amp;u=http://pphsenglish332.wikispaces.com/Breakfast
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe is considered a Dark Romanticist because of his poems and shortstories centered around the ideas of evil human nature, darkness, and death: death of the individual, but also death of the mind and soul. Poe has written many shortstories, mysteries, and poems, including The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, Eldorado, and The Fall of the House of Usher. The Fall of the House of Usher, a shortstory, is the tragic tale of two siblings and a childhood friend, their struggles, dependence, and eventually, their death. Every paragraph of the story contains examples of Dark Romanticism and Romanticism alike. Poe's writing not only is an perfect example of Dark Romanticism, it is also an entrance into the thoughts of Edgar Allan Poe himself.
The story takes place in the Mansion of the Ushers, an old and dying mansion surrounded by bleak and dark surroundings, and giving a first impression of gloom. "DURING the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback,...

Study Tools

Company

Follow

{"hostname":"studymode.com","essaysImgCdnUrl":"\/\/images-study.netdna-ssl.com\/pi\/","useDefaultThumbs":true,"defaultThumbImgs":["\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_1.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_2.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_3.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_4.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_5.png"],"thumb_default_size":"160x220","thumb_ac_size":"80x110","isPayOrJoin":false,"essayUpload":false,"site_id":1,"autoComplete":false,"isPremiumCountry":false,"userCountryCode":"US","logPixelPath":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","tracking_url":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","cookies":{"unlimitedBanner":"off"},"essay":{"essayId":35631640,"categoryName":"Fiction","categoryParentId":"17","currentPage":1,"format":"text","pageMeta":{"text":{"startPage":1,"endPage":2,"pageRange":"1-2","totalPages":2}},"access":"premium","title":"The Fall of the House of Usher Movie vs. Short Story","additionalIds":[9,3,103,2],"additional":["Entertainment","Business \u0026 Economy","Entertainment\/Film","Awards \u0026 Events"],"loadedPages":{"html":[],"text":[1,2]}},"user":null,"canonicalUrl":"http:\/\/www.studymode.com\/essays\/The-Fall-Of-The-House-Of-953380.html","pagesPerLoad":50,"userType":"member_guest","ct":10,"ndocs":"1,500,000","pdocs":"6,000","cc":"10_PERCENT_1MO_AND_6MO","signUpUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/","joinUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/join","payPlanUrl":"\/checkout\/pay","upgradeUrl":"\/checkout\/upgrade","freeTrialUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fcheckout%2Fpay%2Ffree-trial\u0026bypassPaymentPage=1","showModal":"get-access","showModalUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fjoin","joinFreeUrl":"\/essays\/?newuser=1","siteId":1}